Ontario's Regulatory Registry

Regulation - LGIC

Proposed Data Standards for the Identification and Monitoring of Systemic Racism (Anti-Racism Data Standards), as well as potential regulation to authorize or require public sector organizations to collect specified personal information using the proposed Anti-Racism Data Standards to identify and combat systemic racism and advance racial equity.

Regulation Number(s):

N/A

Bill or Act:

Anti-Racism Act, 2017

Summary of Proposal:

The Ontario government is proposing to establish Anti-Racism Data Standards (ARDS) under the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 (ARA), for the collection, use and management of personal information to identify and monitor systemic racism and racial disparities for the purpose of eliminating systemic racism and advancing racial equity.

The proposal to establish ARDS is a key initiative identified in A Better Way Forward: Ontario's 3-Year Anti-Racism Strategic Plan. To address racial inequities, government and PSOs need data to understand whether specific segments of the population are experiencing adverse impacts of systemic racism. The ARDS will ensure that data is collected consistently in a way that protects privacy and is analyzed and publicly reported by government and PSOs to help identify outcomes, patterns and potential biases.

The proposed ARDS would apply to PSOs, as defined in the ARA, which may be required or authorized to collect specified personal information in a potential regulation under the ARA. PSOs may be required to comply with all or part of the proposed ARDS as outlined in a potential regulation.

The proposed ARDS would include:

1. The purpose of the ARDS, guidance on how to use them, and a commitment to periodic review.

2. How PSOs should collect personal information including notice requirements and consent. The provision of personal information by individuals would be voluntary. The types of personal information that potentially could be collected include Indigenous self-identity, race, religion and ethnic origin and other types of personal information such as age, gender, etc.

3. How to store, secure, manage, and limit access to personal information to ensure that individual privacy and confidentiality is protected.

4. How to use the data to calculate racial disparities and disproportionalities, and other types of analysis related to systemic racism.

5. Requirements to de-identify personal information and disclose de-identified information to the public through an open data format, as well as reporting of data and analysis, to help ensure public transparency and accountability in a way that protects personal privacy.

6. The collection of observer perception of an individual's race, in order to identify and address potential racial profiling by PSOs.

The ARA gives the government the authority to create regulations that require or authorize PSOs to collect specified information, including personal information in relation to certain programs, services and functions for the purpose of eliminating systemic racism and advancing racial equity. The government is exploring options to potentially regulate PSOs to collect specified personal information, including information about Indigenous identity, race, and race-related information in relation to specified programs, services and functions in the child welfare, justice and education sectors. These sectors have been identified as priority areas for data collection based on concerns raised by Indigenous and racialized communities.

The implementation timelines for the collection of personal information may be phased in over a number of years to enable PSOs to plan and prepare for data collection.

The Anti-Racism Directorate will be seeking feedback from the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Ontario Human Rights Commission on the draft ARDS attached with this posting.

Analysis of Regulatory Impact:

The potential regulation will not have an administrative cost burden on businesses as the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 (ARA) only provides authority to regulate public sector organizations (PSOs) to collect race based data for the purposes of eliminating systemic racism and advancing racial equity. In addition, currently the Anti-Racism Directorate (ARD) is only exploring options to regulate certain public sector organizations in the child welfare, justice and education sectors. ARD welcomes feedback on which other public sectors could be considered for inclusion in future regulations for the collection of race based data for the purposes of eliminating systemic racism and advancing racial equity.